N-terminal pyroglutamate (pGlu) formation from its glutaminyl (or glutamyl) precursor is required in the maturation of numerous bioactive peptides. The aberrant formation of pGlu may be related to several pathological processes, such as osteoporosis and amyloidotic diseases. This N-terminal cyclization reaction, once thought to proceed spontaneously, is greatly facilitated by the enzyme glutami...

In plant, primary transcripts (pri-miRNAs) transcribed from miRNA genes by RNA polymerase II are first processed into stem-loop pre-miRNAs and further chopped into ∼21 nt long miRNAs by RNase III-like enzyme DCL1. SERRATE (SE) protein is an essential component for miRNA processing by assisting DCL1 for accurate cleavage. Here we report the crystal structure of Arabidopsis SE core (residues 194-...

Unique donor-π-acceptor phthalocyanines have been synthesized through the asymmetric functionalization of an ABAB phthalocyanine, crosswise functionalized with two iodine atoms through Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions with adequate electron-donor and electron-acceptor moieties. These push-pull molecules have been optically and electrochemically characterized, and their ability to perform a...

Researchers have identified numerous internal and external factors that contribute to individual differences in emotion regulation (ER) abilities. To extend these findings, we examined the longitudinal effects of a significant external predictor (parenting) on children's ER abilities in the context of an internal predictor (intellectual functioning). We used cross-lagged panel modeling to inves...

Engineered protein scaffolds have received considerable attention as alternatives to antibodies in both basic and applied research, as they can offer superior biophysical properties often associated with a simpler molecular organization. Sac7d has been demonstrated as an effective scaffold for molecular recognition. Here, we used the initial L1 'flat surface' library constructed by randomizatio...

introduction: as the ability to repair cartilage tissue in body is limited, finding a suitable method for cartilage regeneration has gained the attention of many scholars. for this purpose, scaffold structure and morphology, along with cell culture on it, can be a novel method to treat cartilage injuries, osteoarthritis. methods: in this study, polyhydroxybutyrate (phb) is selected as the scaff...

Due to good biocompatibility, corrosion and mechanical properties, magnesium (Mg) is considered promising degradable material for orthopedic applications. In this work, Mg-MgZnx (x= 1, 2, 3 and 4) nanocomposites scaffolds with different porosities were synthesized via powder metallurgy method. The microstructure, composition, in vitro corrosion and mechanical properties of porous magnesium-zinc...

conventional transdermal drug delivery systems (tdds) have been designed for drug delivery through the skin. these systems use the permeability property of stratum corneum, the outermost surface layer of the skin. applying polymeric micro and nanofibers in drug delivery has recently attracted great attention and the electrospinning technique is the preferred method for polymeric micro-nanofiber...

background: extensive full-thickness burns require replacement of both epidermis and dermis. in designing skin replacements, the goal has been to re-create this model and make a product which has both essential components. methods: in the present study, we developed procedures for establishing confluent, stratified layers of cultured human keratinocytes on the surface of modified collagen-chito...